The Canterville ghost. An amusing chronicle of the tribulations of the ghost of Canterville Chase when his ancestral halls became the home of the American Minister to the Court of St. James

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THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

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fn An amusing chronicle of the tribulations
^ of the Ghost of Cantervllle Chase when
his ancestral halls became the home of the
American Minister to the Court of St. James.

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THE GHOST GLIDED ON MORE SWIFTLY

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

" The ghost glided on more swiftly " Frontispiece

Miss Virginia E. Otis 7

"Had once raced old Lord Bilton on her

PONY " 9

"Blood has been spilled on that spot" . 14
"I really must insist on your oiling those

chains " 23

"The twins ... at once discharged two

pellets on him " 33

" Its head was bald and burnished " . . 47
" He met with a severe fall " . . . -37
" A heavy jug of water fell right down on

him" . 61

"Making satirical remarks on the photo-
graphs" 65

" Suddenly there leaped out two figures " 69
"'Poor, poor ghost,' she murmured; 'have

you no place where you can sleep ? ' " . 83

" He heard somebody galloping after him " . 95

" Out on the landing stepped Virginia " . loi

V

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGB

*' Chained to it was a gaunt skeleton " 105

" By the side of the hearse and the coaches
walked the servants with lighted

torches " 107

" The moon came out from behind a cloud " . in

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

"^-p-^HEN Mr. Hiram B. Otis,
^ ■ ^^ the American Minister,
V ■ V bought Canterville Chase,
^>^^^ every one told him he
was doing a very foohsh thing, as
there was no doubt at all that the
place was haunted. Indeed, Lord
Canterville himself, who was a man
of the most punctihous honour, had
felt it his duty to mention the fact to
Mr. Otis when they came to discuss
terms.

"We have not cared to hve in the
place ourselves," said Lord Canter-

1

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ville, " since my grandaunt, the Dow-
ager Duchess of Bolton, was fright-
ened into a fit, from which she never
really recovered, by two skeleton hands
being placed on her shoulders as she
was dressing for dinner, and I feel
boimd to tell you, Mr. Otis, that the
ghost has been seen by several living
members of my family, as well as by
the rector of the parish, the Rev. Au-
gustus Dampier, who is a Fellow of
King's College, Cambridge. After
the unfortunate accident to the Duch-
ess, none of our younger servants
would stay with us, and Lady Canter-
ville often got very little sleep at
night, in consequence of the mysteri-

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ous noises that came from the corridor
and the library."

" My Lord," answered the Minister,
" I will take the furniture and the
ghost at a valuation. I have come
from a modern coimtry, where we have
everything that money can buy; and
with all our spry yoimg fellows paint-
ing the Old World red, and carrying
off your best actors and prima-donnas,
I reckon that if there were such a
thing as a ghost in Europe, we'd have
it at home in a very short time in one
of oiu" public museums, or on the road
as a show."

" I fear that the ghost exists," said
Lord Canterville, smiling, "though it
may have resisted the overtures of

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

your enterprising impresarios. It has
been well known for three centuries,
since 1584 in fact, and always makes
its appearance before the death of any
member of our family."

" Well, so does the family doctor
for that matter. Lord Canterville.
But there is no such thing, sir, as a
ghost, and I guess the laws of Nature
are not going to be suspended for the
British aristocracy."

" You are certainly very natural in
America," answered Lord Canterville,
who did not quite understand Mr.
Otis's last observation, " and if you
don't mind a ghost in the house, it is
all right. Only you must remember
I warned you."

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

A few weeks after this, the pur-
chase was concluded, and at the close
of the season the Minister and his fam-
ily went down to Canterville Chase.
Mrs. Otis, who, as Miss Lucretia R.
Tappan, of West 53d Street, had been
a celebrated New York beUe, was now
a very handsome, middle-aged woman,
with fine eyes, and a superb profile.
Many American ladies on leaving their
native land adopt an appearance of
chronic ill-health, under the impres-
sion that it is a form of European re-
finement, but Mrs. Otis had never
fallen into this error. She had a mag-
nificent constitution, and a really won-
derful amount of animal spirits. In-
deed, in many respects, she was quite

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

English, and was an excellent exam-
ple of the fact that we have really
everything in common with America
nowadays, except, of course, language.
Her eldest son, christened Washing-
ton by his parents in a moment of
patriotism, which he never ceased to
regret, was a fair-haired, rather good-
looking yoimg man, who had qualified
himself for American diplomacy by
leading the German at the Newport
Casino for three successive seasons,
and even in London was well known
as an excellent dancer. Gardenias and
the peerage were his only weaknesses.
Otherwise he was extremely sensible.
Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl
of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn,

MISS VIRGINIA E. OTIS

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

and with a fine freedom in her large
blue eyes. She was a wonderful Ama-
zon, and had once raced old Lord Bil-
ton on her pony twice rovmd the park,
winning by a
length and a half,
just in front of
the Achilles
statue, to the huge
delight of the
young Duke of
Cheshire, who pro-
posed for her on the spot, and was sent
back to Eton that very night by his
guardians, in floods of tears. After
Virginia came the twins, who were
usually called " The Star and Stripes,"
as they were always getting swished.

9

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

They were delightful boys, and, with
the exception of the worthy Minister,
the only true republicans of the fam-

iiy-

As CanterviUe Chase is seven miles
from Ascot, the nearest railway sta-
tion, Mr. Otis had telegraphed for a
waggonette to meet them, and they
started on their drive in high spirits.
It was a lovely July evening, and the
air was deUcate with the scent of the
pinewoods. Now and then they heard
a wood-pigeon brooding over its own
sweet voice, or saw, deep in the rus-
tling fern, the burnished breast of the
pheasant. Little squirrels peered at
them from the beech-trees as they went
by, and the rabbits scudded away

10

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

through the brushwood and over the
mossy knolls, with their white tails in
the air. As they entered the avenue
of Canterville Chase, however, the sky
became suddenly overcast with clouds,
a curious stillness seemed to hold the
atmosphere, a great flight of rooks
passed silently over their heads, and,
before they reached the house, some
big drops of rain had fallen.

Standing on the steps to receive
them was an old woman, neatly
dressed in black silk, with a white cap
and apron. This was Mrs. Umney,
the housekeeper, whom Mrs. Otis, at
Lady Canterville's earnest request, had
consented to keep in her former posi-
tion. She made them each a low curt-
11

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

sey as they alighted, and said in a
quaint, old-fashioned manner, " I bid
you welcome to Canterville Chase."
Following her, they passed through
the fine Tudor hall into the library,
a long, low room, panelled in black
oak, at the end of which was a large
stained glass window. Here they
found tea laid out for them, and, after
taking off their wraps, they sat down
and began to look rovmd, while Mrs.
Umney waited on them.

Suddenly Mrs. Otis caught sight of
a dull red stain on the floor just by the
fireplace, and, quite unconscious of
what it really signified, said to Mrs.
Umney, " I am afraid something has
been spilt there."

12

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

" Yes, madam," replied the old
housekeeper in a low voice, " blood
has been spilt on that spot."

"How horrid!" cried Mrs. Otis;
" I don't at all care for blood-stains in
a sitting-room. It must be removed
at once."

The old woman smiled, and an-
swered in the same low, mysterious
voice, " It is the blood of Lady Elea-
nore de Canterville, who was murdered
on that very spot by her own husband,
Sir Simon de Canterville, in 1575. Sir
Simon survived her nine years, and
disappeared suddenly imder very mys-
terious circumstances. His body has
never been discovered, but his guilty
spirit still haimts the Chase. The

13

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

blood-stain has been much admired by
tourists and others, and cannot be re-
moved."

" That is all nonsense," cried Wash-
ington Otis; "Pmkerton's Champion
Stain Remover and Paragon Deter-
gent will clean it
up in no time," and
before the terri-
fied housekeeper
could interfere, he
had fallen upon
his knees, and was
rapidly scouring the floor with a small
stick of what looked like a black cos-
metic. In a few moments no trace of
the blood-stain could be seen.

" I knew Pinkerton would do it," he

14

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

exclaimed, triumphantly, as he looked
round at his admiring family; but no
sooner had he said these words than a
terrible flash of lightning lit up the
sombre room, a fearful peal of thunder
made them all start to their feet, and
Mrs. Umney fainted.

"What a monstrous climate!" said
the American Minister, calmly, as he
lit a long cheroot. " I guess the old
country is so overpopulated that they
have not enough decent weather for
everybody. I have always been of
opinion that emigration is the only
thing for England."

" My dear Hiram," cried Mrs. Otis,
" what can we do with a woman who
faints? "

15

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

" Charge it to her hke breakages,"
answered the Minister; "she won't
faint after that; " and in a few mo-
ments Mrs. Umney certainly came to.
There was no doubt, however, that she
was extremely upset, and she sternly
warned Mr. Otis to beware of some
trouble coming to the house.

" I have seen things with my own
eyes, sir," she said, " that would make
any Christian's hair stand on end, and
many and many a night I have not
closed my eyes in sleep for the awful
things that are done here." Mr. Otis,
however, and his wife warmly assured
the honest soul that they were not
afraid of ghosts, and, after invoking
the blessings of Providence on her new

16

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

master and mistress, and making ar-
rangements for an increase of salary,
the old housekeeper tottered off to her
own room.

17

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

II

CHE storm raged fiercely
all that night, but noth-
ing of particular note oc-
curred. The next morn-
ing, however, when they came down
to breakfast, they found the terrible
stain of blood once again on the floor,
" I don't think it can be the fault of
the Paragon Detergent," said Wash-
ington, " for I have tried it with every-
thing. It must be the ghost." He
accordingly rubbed out the stain a
second time, but the second morning

it appeared again. The third morn-
is

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ing also it was there, though the li-
brary had been locked up at night by
Mr. Otis himself, and the key carried
up-stairs. The whole family were now
quite interested; Mr. Otis began to
suspect that he had been too dogmatic
in his denial of the existence of ghosts,
Mrs. Otis expressed her intention of
joining the Psychical Society, and
Washington prepared a long letter to
Messrs. Myers and Podmore on the
subject of the Permanence of San-
guineous Stains when connected with
Crime. That night all doubts about
the objective existence of phantasmata
were removed for ever.

The day had been warm and sunny;
and, in the cool of the evening, the

19

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

whole family went out to drive. They
did not return home tiU nine o'clock,
when they had a light supper. The
conversation in no way turned upon
ghosts, so there were not even those
primary conditions of receptive expec-
tations which so often precede the
presentation of psychical phenomena.
The subjects discussed, as I have since
learned from Mr. Otis, were merely
such as form the ordinary conversation
of cultured Americans of the better
class, such as the immense superiority
of Miss Fanny Devonport over Sarah
Bernhardt as an actress; the difficulty
of obtaining green com, buckwheat
cakes, and hominy, even in the best
English houses; the importance of

20

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Boston in the development of the
world-soul; the advantages of the
baggage-check system in railway trav-
elling; and the sweetness of the New
York accent as compared to the Lon-
don drawl. No mention at all was
made of the supernatural, nor was Sir
Simon de Canterville alluded to in
any way. At eleven o'clock the fam-
ily retired, and by half-past all the
hghts were out. Some time after, Mr.
Otis was awakened by a curious noise
in the corridor, outside his room. It
sounded like the clank of metal, and
seemed to be coming nearer every
moment. He got up at once, struck
a match, and looked at the time. It
was exactly one o'clock. He was quite

21

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

calm, and felt his pulse, which was not
at all feverish. The strange noise still
continued, and with it he heard dis-
tinctly the sound of footsteps. He
put on his slippers, took a small ohlong
phial out of his dressing-case, and
opened the door. Right in front of
him he saw, in the wan moonlight, an
old man of terrible aspect. His eyes
were as red burning coals; long grey
hair fell over his shoulders in matted
coils; his garments, which were of
antique cut, were soiled and ragged,
and from his wrists and ankles himg
heavy manacles and rusty gyves.

"My dear sir," said Mr. Otis, "I
really must insist on your oiling those
chains, and have brought you for that

22

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

purpose a small bottle of the Tam-
many Rising Sun Lubricator. It is
said to be completely eflScacious upon

one application, and there are several
testimonials to that effect on the wrap-
per from some of our most eminent
native divines. I shall leave it here

28

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

for you by the bedroom candles, and
will be happy to supply you with
more, should you require it." With
these words the United States Minis-
ter laid the bottle down on a marble
table, and, closing his door, retired to
rest.

For a moment the Canterville ghost
stood quite motionless in natural indig-
nation; then, dashing the bottle vio-
lently upon the polished floor, he fled
down the corridor, uttering hollow
groans, and emitting a ghastly green
light. Just, however, as he reached
the top of the great oak staircase, a
door was flung open, two little white-
robed figures appeared, and a large
pillow whizzed past his head! There

24

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

was evidently no time to be lost, so,
hastily adopting the Fourth dimension
of Space as a means of escape, he van-
ished through the wainscoting, and
the house became quite quiet.

On reaching a small secret chamber
in the left wing, he leaned up against
a moonbeam to recover his breath, and
began to try and realize his position.
Never, in a brilliant and uninterrupted
career of three himdred years, had he
been so grossly insulted. He thought
of the Dowager Duchess, whom he had
frightened into a fit as she stood be-
fore the glass in her lace and dia-
monds; of the foiu* housemaids, who
had gone into hysterics when he
merely grinned at them through the

26

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

curtains on one of the spare bedrooms;
of the rector of the parish, whose can-
dle he had blown out as he was coming
late one night from the library, and
who had been under the care of Sir
William Gull ever since, a perfect
martyr to nervous disorders; and of
old Madame de Tremouillac, who,
having wakened up one morning early
and seen a skeleton seated in an arm-
chair by the fire reading her diary,
had been confined to her bed for six
weeks with an attack of brain fever,
and, on her recovery, had become rec-
onciled to the Church, and broken off
her connection with that notorious
sceptic, Monsieur de Voltaire. He
remembered the terrible night when

26

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the wicked Lord Canterville was found
choking in his dressing-room, with the
knave of diamonds half-way down his
throat, and confessed, just before he
died, that he had cheated Charles
James Fox out of ,£50,000 at Crock-
ford's by means of that very card, and
swore that the ghost had made him
swallow it. All his great achievements
came back to him again, from the
butler who had shot himself in the
pantry because he had seen a green
hand tapping at the window-pane, to
the beautiful Lady Stutfield, who was
always obliged to wear a black velvet
band round her throat to hide the mark
of five fingers burnt upon her white
skin, and who drowned herself at last

27

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

in the carp-pond at the end of the
King's Walk. With the enthusiastic
egotism of the true artist, he went
over his most celebrated performances,
and smiled bitterly to himself as he
recalled to mind his last appearance
as " Red Reuben, or the Strangled
Babe," his debut as " Guant Gibeon,
the Blood-sucker of Bexley Moor,"
and the furore he had excited one
lovely Jxme evening by merely play-
ing ninepins with his own bones upon
the lawn-tennis ground. And after
all this some wretched modern Ameri-
cans were to come and offer him the
Rising Sun Lubricator, and throw pil-
lows at his head! It was quite unbear-
able. Besides, no ghost in history had

28

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ever been treated in this manner. Ac-
cordingly, he determined to have ven-
geance, and remained till daylight in
an attitude of deep thought.

29

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

III

CHE next morning, when
the Otis family met at
breakfast, they discussed
the ghost at some length.
The United States Minister was nat-
urally a little annoyed to find that his
present had not been accepted. " I
have no wish," he said, " to do the
ghost any personal injury, and I must
say that, considering the length of
time he has been in the house, I don't
think it is at all polite to throw pil-
lows at him," — a very just remark,
at which, I am sorry to say, the twins

30

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

burst into shouts of laughter. " Upon
the other hand," he continued, "if he
really declines to use the Rising Sun
Lubricator, we shall have to take his
chains from him. It would be quite
impossible to sleep, with such a noise
going on outside the bedrooms."

For the rest of the week, however,
they were imdisturbed, the only thing
that excited any attention being the
continual renewal of the blood-stain
on the hbrary floor. This certainly
was very strange, as the door was
always locked at night by Mr. Otis,
and the windows kept closely barred.
The chameleon-like colour, also, of the
stain excited a good deal of comment.
Some mornings it was a dull (almost

31

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Indian) red, then it would be ver-
milion, then a rich purple, and once
when they came down for family pray-
ers, according to the simple rites of the
Free American Reformed Episcopa-
lian Church, they found it a bright
emerald-green. These kaleidoscopic
changes naturally amused the party
very much, and bets on the subject
were freely made every evening. The
only person who did not enter into the
joke was little Virginia, who, for some
vmexplained reason, was always a good
deal distressed at the sight of the
blood-stain, and very nearly cried the
morning it was emerald-green.

The second appearance of the ghost
was on Sunday night. Shortly after

82

" THE TWINS ... AT ONCE DISCHARGED TWO
PELLETS ON HIM "

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

they had gone to bed they were sud-
denly alarmed by a fearful crash in
the haU. Rushing down-stairs, they
found that a large suit of old armoiu*
had become detached from its stand,
and had fallen on the stone floor, while
seated in a high-backed chair was the
CanterviUe ghost, rubbing his knees
with an 3xpression of acute agony on
his face. The twins, having brought
their pea-shooters with them, at once
discharged two pellets on him, with
that accuracy of aim which can only
be attained by long and careful prac-
tice on a writing-master, while the
United States Minister covered him
with his revolver, and called upon him,
in accordance with Californian eti-

36

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

quette, to hold up his hands! The
ghost started up with a wild shriek
of rage, and swept through them like
a mist, extinguishing Washington
Otis's candle as he passed, and so
leaving them all in total darkness. On
reaching the top of the staircase he
recovered himself, and determined to
give his celebrated peal of demoniac
laughter. This he had on more than
one occasion found extremely useful.
It was said to have turned Lord
Raker's wig grey in a single night,
and had certainly made three of Lady
Canterville's French governesses give
warning before their month was up.
He accordingly laughed his most hor-
rible laugh, till the old vaulted roof

36

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

rang and rang again, but hardly had
the fearful echo died away when a
door opened, and Mrs. Otis came out
in a light blue dressing-gown. " I
am afraid you are far from weU,"
she said, " and have brought you a
bottle of Doctor Dobell's tincture. If
it is indigestion, you will find it a
most excellent remedy." The ghost
glared at her in fvuy, and began at
once to make preparations for turn-
ing himself into a large black dog,
an accomplishment for which he was
justly renowned, and to which the
family doctor always attributed the
permanent idiocy of Lord Canter-
viUe's uncle, the Hon. Thomas Hor-
ton. The sound of approaching foot-

87

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

steps, however, made him hesitate in
his fell purpose, so he contented him-
self with becoming faintly phospho-
rescent, and vanished with a deep
churchyard groan, just as the twins
had come up to him.

On reaching his room he entirely
broke down, and became a prey to
the most violent agitation. The vul-
garity of the twins, and the gross
materialism of Mrs. Otis, were nat-
urally extremely annoying, but what
really distressed him most was that
he had been tmable to wear the suit
of mail. He had hoped that even
modem Americans would be thrilled
by the sight of a Spectre in armour,
if for no more sensible reason, at

38

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

least out of respect for their natural
poet Longfellow, over whose grace-
ful and attractive poetry he himself
had whiled away many a weary hour
when the Cantervilles were up in
town. Besides it was his own suit.
He had worn it with great success
at the Kenilworth tournament, and
had been highly complimented on it
by no less a person than the Virgin
Queen herself. Yet when he had put
it on, he had been completely over-
powered by the weight of the huge
breastplate and steel casque, and had
fallen heavily on the stone pavement,
barking both his knees severely, and
bruising the knuckles of his right
hand.

39

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

For some days after this he was
extremely ill, and hardly stirred out
of his room at all, except to keep the
blood-stain in proper repair. How-
ever, by taking great care of himself,
he recovered, and resolved to make a
third attempt to frighten the United
States Minister and his family. He
selected Friday, August 17th, for his
appearance, and spent most of that
day in looking over his wardrobe,
ultimately deciding in favovu" of a
large slouched hat with a red feather,
a winding-sheet frilled at the wrists
and neck, and a rusty dagger. To-
wards evening a violent storm of rain
came on, and the wind was so high
that all the windows and doors in the

40

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

old house shook and rattled. In fact,
it was just such weather as he loved.
His plan of action was this. He was
to make his way quietly to Washing-
ton Otis's room, gibber at him from
the foot of the bed, and stab himself
three times in the throat to the sound
of low music. He bore Washington
a special grudge, being quite aware
that it was he who was in the habit
of removing the famous Canterville
blood-stain by means of Pinkerton's
Paragon Detergent. Having re-
duced the reckless and foolhardy
youth to a condition of abject terror,
he was then to proceed to the room
occupied by the United States Min-
ister and his wife, and there to place

41

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

a clammy hand on Mrs. Otis's fore-
head, while he hissed into her trem-
bling husband's ear the awful secrets
of the charnel-house. With regard
to little Virginia, he had not quite
made up his mind. She had never
insulted him in any way, and was
pretty and gentle. A few hollow
groans from the wardrobe, he thought,
would be more than suiBcient, or, if
that failed to wake her, he might
grabble at the counterpane with palsy-
twitching fingers. As for the twins,
he was quite determined to teach
them a lesson. The first thing to be
done was, of course, to sit upon their
chests, so as to produce the stifling
sensation of nightmare. Then, as

42

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

their beds were quite close to each
other, to stand between them in the
form of a green, icy-cold corpse, till
they became paralyzed with fear, and
finally, to throw off the winding-
sheet, and crawl roimd the room,
with white, bleached bones and one
rolling eyeball, in the character of
" Dmnb Daniel, or the Suicide's
Skeleton," a role in which he had on
more than one occasion produced a
great effect, and which he considered
quite equal to his famous part of
" Martin the Maniac, or the Masked
Mystery."

At half -past ten he heard the fam-
ily going to bed. For some time he
was disturbed by wild shrieks of

43

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

laughter from the twins, who, with
the hght-hearted gaiety of schoolboys,
were evidently amusing themselves
before they retired to rest, but at a
quarter-past eleven all was still, and,
as midnight sounded, he salhed forth.
The owl beat against the window-
panes, the raven croaked from the
old yew-tree, and the wind wandered
moaning round the house like a lost
soul; but the Otis family slept im-
conscious of their doom, and high
above the rain and storm he could hear
the steady snoring of the Minister
for the United States. He stepped
stealthily out of the wainscoting, with
an evil smile on his cruel, ^v^in-
kled mouth, and the moon hid her

44

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

face in a cloud as he stole past the
great oriel window, where his own
arms and those of his murdered wife
were blazoned in azure and gold. On
and on he glided, like an evil shadow,
the very darkness seeming to loathe
him as he passed. Once he thought
he heard something call, and stopped;
but it was only the baying of a dog
from the Red Farm, and he went on,
muttering strange sixteenth-century
curses, and ever and anon brandish-
ing the rusty dagger in the midnight
air. Finally he reached the corner of
the passage that led to luckless Wash-
ington's room. For a moment he
paused there, the wind blowing his
long grey locks about his head, and

45

THE CAXTERVILLE GHOST

twisting into grotesque and fantastic
folds the nameless horror of the dead
man's shroud. Then the clock struck
the quarter, and he felt the time was
come. He chuckled to himself, and
turned the corner; but no sooner had
he done so than, with a piteous wail
of terror, he fell back, and hid his
blanched face in his long, bony hands.
Right in front of him was standing
a horrible spectre, motionless as a
carven image, and monstrous as a
madman's dream! Its head was bald
and burnished; its face round, and
fat, and white; and hideous laugh-
ter seemed to have writhed its fea-
tures into an eternal grin. From the
eyes streamed rays of scarlet light,

46

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the mouth was a wide well of fire,

and a hideous garment, like to his

own, swathed with its silent snows the

Titan form. On its breast was a

placard with

strange writing in

antique characters,

some scroll of

shame it seemed,

some record of

wild sins, some aw-

f u 1 calendar o f

crime, and, with

its right hand, it bore aloft a falchion

of gleaming steel.

Never having seen a ghost before,
he naturally was terribly frightened,
and, after a second hasty glance at

47

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the awful phantom, he fled back to
his room, tripping up in his long wind-
ing-sheet as he sped down the corri-
dor, and finally dropping the rusty
dagger into the Minister's jack-boots,
where it was found in the morning
by the butler. Once in the privacy
of his own apartment, he flung him-
self down on a small pallet-bed, and
hid his face under the clothes. After
a time, however, the brave old Canter-
ville spirit asserted itself, and he de-
termined to go and speak to the other
ghost as soon as it was daylight. Ac-
cordingly, just as the dawn was
touching the hills with silver, he re-
turned towards the spot where he had
first laid eyes on the grisly phantom,

48

THE CANTERVILLE GHOS T

feeling that, after all, two ghosts
were better than one, and that, by
the aid of his new friend, he might
safely grapple with the twins. On
reaching the spot, however, a terrible
sight met his gaze. Something had
evidently happened to the spectre, for
the light had entirely faded from its
hollow eyes, the gleaming falchion
had fallen from its hand, and it was
leaning up against the wall in a
strained and uncomfortable attitude.
He rushed forward and seized it in
his arms, when, to his horror, the head
slipped off and rolled on the floor,
the body assumed a recumbent pos-
ture, and he found himself clasping
a white dimity bed-curtain, with a

49

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

sweeping-brush, a kitchen cleaver, and
a hollow turnip lying at his feet!
Unable to understand this curious
transformation, he clutched the plac-
ard with feverish haste, and there, in
the grey morning light, he read these
fearful words : —

YE OTIS GHOSTE

Ye Onlie True and Originale Spook,

Beware of Ye Imitationes.

All others are counterfeite.

The whole thing flashed across him.
He had been tricked, foiled, and out-
witted! The old Canterville look
came into his eyes; he groimd his
toothless gums together; and, rais-
ing his withered hands high above

50

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

his head, swore according to the pic-
turesque phraseology of the antique
school, that, when Chanticleer had
sounded twice his merry horn, deeds
of blood would be wrought, and mur-
der walk abroad with silent feet.

Hardly had he finished this awful
oath when, from the red-tiled roof of
a distant homestead, a cock crew.
He laughed a long, low, bitter laugh,
and waited. Hour after hour he
waited, but the cock, for some strange
reason, did not crow again. Finally,
at half -past seven, the arrival of the
housemaids made him give up his
fearful vigil, and he stalked back to
his room, thinking of his vain oath
and baffled purpose. There he con-

51

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

suited several books of ancient chiv-
alry, of which he was exceedingly
fond, and found that, on every occa-
sion on which this oath had been used.
Chanticleer had always crowed a sec-
ond time. " Perdition seize the
naughty fowl," he muttered, " I have
seen the day when, with my stout
spear, I would have run him through
the gorge, and made him crow for me
an 'twere in death! " He then retired
to a comfortable lead coifin, and
stayed there till evening.

52

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

IV

^^^^^^HE next day the ghost was
m Li "^^^y weak and tired. The
^L J terrible excitement of the

^^^■^^ last four weeks was be-
ginning to have its effect. His nerves
were completely shattered, and he
started at the slightest noise. For
five days he kept his room, and at last
made up his mind to give up the point
of the blood-stain on the library floor.
If the Otis family did not want it, they
clearly did not deserve it. They were
evidently people on a low, material
plane of existence, and quite incapable

63

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

of appreciating the symbolic value of
sensuous phenomena. The question of
phantasmic apparitions, and the de-
velopment of astral bodies, was of
course quite a different matter, and
really not under his control. It was
his solemn duty to appear in the cor-
ridor once a week, and to gibber from
the large oriel window on the first and
third Wednesdays in every month, and
he did not see how he could honour-
ably escape from his obhgations. It is
quite true that his life had been very
evil, but, upon the other hand, he was
most conscientious in all things con-
nected with the supernatural. For the
next three Saturdays, accordingly, he
traversed the corridor as usual between

54

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

midnight and three o'clock, taking
every possible precaution against being
either heard or seen. He removed his
boots, trod as lightly as possible on the
old worm-eaten boards, wore a large
black velvet cloak, and was careful to
use the Rising Sim. Lubricator for oil-
ing his chains. I am bovmd to ac-
knowledge that it was with a good deal
of difficulty that he brought himself
to adopt this last mode of protection.
However, one night, while the family
were at dinner, he slipped into Mr.
Otis's bedroom and carried off the bot-
tle. He felt a little humihated at first,
but afterwards was sensible enough to
see that there was a great deal to be
said for the invention, and, to a certain

66

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

degree, it served his purpose. Still,
in spite of everything he was not left
unmolested. Strings were continually
being stretched across the corridor, over
which he tripped in the dark, and on
one occasion, while dressed for the part
of " Black Isaac, or the Huntsman of
Hogley Woods," he met with a severe
fall, through treading on a butter-shde,
which the twins had constructed from
the entrance of the Tapestry Chamber
to the top of the oak staircase. This
last insult so enraged him, that he re-
solved to make one final effort to assert
his dignity and social position, and
determined to visit the insolent young
Etonians the next night in his cele-

56

"HE MET WITH A SEVERE FALL

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

brated character of " Reckless Rupert,
or the Headless Earl."

He had not appeared in this disguise
for more than seventy years; in fact,
not since he had so frightened pretty
Lady Barbara Modish by means of it,
that she suddenly broke off her engage-
ment with the present Lord Canter-
ville's grandfather, and ran away to
Gretna Green with handsome Jack
Castletown, declaring that nothing in
the world would induce her to marry
into a family that allowed such a hor-
rible phantom to walk up and down the
terrace at twilight. Poor Jack was
afterwards shot in a duel by Lord
Canterville on Wandsworth Common,
and Lady Barbara died of a broken

69

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

heart at Tunbridge Wells before the
year was out, so, in every way, it had
been a great success. It was, however,
an extremely difficult "make-up," if I
may use such a theatrical expression in
connection with one of the greatest
mysteries of the supernatural, or, to
employ a more scientific term, the
higher-natural world, and it took him
fully three hom-s to make his prepara-
tions. At last everything was ready,
and he was very pleased with his ap-
pearance. The big leather riding-
boots that went with the dress were
just a httle too large for him, and he
could only find one of the two horse-
pistols, but, on the whole, he was quite
satisfied, and at a quarter-past one he

A HEAVY JUG OF WATER FELL RIGHT DOWN ON
HIM."

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

glided out of the wiainscoting and crept
down the corridor. On reaching the
room occupied by the twins, which I
should mention was called the Blue
Bed Chamber, on account of the colour
of its hangings, he found the door just
ajar. Wishing to make an effective
entrance, he flung it wide open, when
a heavy jug of water fell right down
on him, wetting him to the skin, and
just missing his left shoulder by a
couple of inches. At the same moment
he heard stifled shrieks of laughter
proceeding from the four-post bed.
The shock to his nervous system was
so great that he fled back to his room
as hard as he could go, and the next
day he was laid up with a severe cold.

62

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

The only thing that at all consoled him
in the whole affair was the fact that
he had not brought his head with him,
for, had he done so, the consequences
might have been very serious.

He now gave up all hope of ever
frightening this rude American family,
and contented himself, as a rule, with
creeping about the passages in list slip-
pers, with a thick red muffler roimd
his throat for fear of draughts, and a
small arquebuse, in case he should be
attacked by the twins. The final blow
he received occurred on the 19th of
September. He had gone down-stairs
to the great entrance-hall, feeling sure
that there, at any rate, he would be
quite immolested, and was amusing

63

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

himself by making satirical remarks
on the large Saroni photographs of the
United States Minister and his wife,
which had now taken the place of the
CantervUle family pictures. He was
simply but neatly clad in a long shroud,
spotted with chiu-chyard mould, had
tied up his jaw with a strip of yellow
linen, and carried a small lantern and
a sexton's spade. In fact, he was
dressed for the character of " Jonas the
Graveless, or the Corpse- Snatcher of
Chertsey Barn," one of his most re-
markable impersonations, and one
which the Cantervilles had every rea-
son to remember, as it was the real
origin of their quarrel with their neigh-
bour. Lord Ruiford. It was about a

64

" MAKING SATIRICAL REMARKS ON THE
PHOTOGRAPHS "

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

quaxter-past two o'clock in the morn-
ing, and, as far as he coiold ascertain,
no one was stirring. As he was strol-
ling towards the library, however, to
see if there were any traces left of the
blood-stain, suddenly there leaped out
on bim from a dark corner two figures,
who waved their arms wildly above
their heads, and shrieked out " BOO ! "
in his ear.

Seized with a panic, which, under the
circumstances, was only natural, he
rushed for the staircase, but found
Washington Otis waiting for him there
with the big garden-syringe, and being
thus hemmed in by his enemies on
every side, and driven almost to bay,
he vanished into the great iron stove,

67

THE CANTERVIL LE GHOST

which, fortunately for him, was not lit,
and had to make his way home through
the flues and chimneys, arriving at his
own room in a terrible state of dirt,
disorder, and despair.

After this he was not seen again on
any nocturnal expedition. The twins
lay in wait for him on several occasions,
and strewed the passages with nutshells
every night to the great annoyance of
their parents and the servants, but it
was of no avail. It was quite evident
that his feelings were so wounded that
he would not appear. Mr. Otis con-
sequently resumed his great work on
the history of the Democratic Party,
on which he had been engaged for some
years; Mrs. Otis organized a wonder-

68

" SUDDENLY THERE LEAFED OUT TWO FIGURES,

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ful clam-bake, which amazed the whole
county; the boys took to lacrosse,
euchre, poker, and other American na-
tional games, and Virginia rode about
the lanes on her pony, accompanied by
the yoimg Duke of Cheshire, who had
come to spend the last week of his holi-
days at Canterville Chase. It was
generally assumed that the ghost had
gone away, and, in fact, Mr. Otis wrote
a letter to that effect to Lord Canter-
ville, who, in reply, expressed his great
pleasure at the news, and sent his best
congratulations to the Minister's worthy
wife.

The Otises, however, were deceived,
for the ghost was still in the house, and
though now almost an invalid, was by

70

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

no means ready to let matters rest,
particularly as he heard that among
the guests was the young Duke of
Cheshire, whose grand-vmcle, Lord
Francis Stilton, had once bet a hun-
dred guineas with Colonel Carbury that
he would play dice with the Canter-
ville ghost, and was found the next
morning lying on the floor of the card-
room in such a helpless paralytic state
that, though he lived on to a great age,
he was never able to say anything again
but "Double Sixes." The story was
well known at the time, though, of
course, out of respect to the feelings
of the two noble f amiUes, every attempt
was made to hush it up, and a full
account of all the circvmistances con-

71

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

nected with it will be f otmd in the third
volume of Lord Tattle's Recollections
of the Prince Regent and his Friends.
The ghost, then, was naturally very
anxious to show that he had not lost his
influence over the Stiltons, with whom,
indeed, he was distantly connected, his
own first cousin having been married en
secondes noces to the Sieur de Bulke-
ley, from whom, as every one knows,
the Dukes of Cheshire are lineally de-
scended. Accordingly, he made ar-
rangements for appearing to Virginia's
little lover in his celebrated impersona-
tion of " The Vampire Monk, or the
Bloodless Benedictine," a performance
so horrible that when old Lady Startup
saw it, which she did on one fatal

72

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

New Year's Eve, in the year 1764, she
went off into the most piercing shrieks,
which cuhninated in violent apoplexy,
and died in three days, after disinherit-
ing the Cantervilles, who were her
nearest relations, and leaving all her
money to her London apothecary. At
the last moment, however, his terror of
the twins prevented his leaving his
room, and the Uttle Duke slept in peace
under the great feathered canopy in the
Royal Bedchamher, and dreamed of
Virginia.

78

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

FEW days after this,
Virginia and her curly-
haired cavalier went out
riding on Brockley mead-
ows, where she tore her habit so badly
in getting through a hedge that, on
their return home, she made up her
mind to go up by the back staircase
so as not to be seen. As she was
running past the Tapestry Chamber,
the door of which happened to be
open, she fancied she saw some one
inside, and thinking it was her moth-
er's maid, who sometimes used to

74

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

bring her work there, looked in to
ask her to mend her habit. To her
immense surprise, however, it was the
Canterville Ghost himself! He was
sitting by the window, watching the
ruined gold of the yellowing trees fly
through the air, and the red leaves
dancing madly down the long avenue.
His head was leaning ,on his hand,
and his whole attitude was one of
extreme depression. Indeed, so for-
lorn, and so much out of repair did
he look, that little Virginia, whose
first idea had been to run away and
lock herself in her room, was filled
with pity, and determined to try and
comfort him. So light was her foot-
fall, and so deep his melancholy, that

76

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

he was not aware of her presence till
she spoke to him.

" I am so sorry for you," she said,
" but my brothers are going back to
Eton to-morrow, and then, if you
behave yom-self, no one will annoy
you."

"It is absurd asking me to behave
myself," he answered, looking round
in astonishment at the pretty little
girl who had ventured to address him,
" quite absurd. I must rattle my
chains, and groan through keyholes,
and walk about at night, if that is
what you mean. It is my only rea-
son for existing."

" It is no reason at all for existing,
and you know you have been very

7S

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

wicked. Mrs. Umney told us, the
first day we arrived here, that you
had killed your wife."

"Well, I quite admit it," said the
Ghost, petulantly, "but it was a
purely family matter, and concerned
no one else."

" It is very wrong to kill any one,"
said Virginia, who at times had a
sweet ptu-itan gravity, caught from
some old New England ancestor.

" Oh, I hate the cheap severity of
abstract ethics! My wife was very
plain, never had my ruffs properly
starched, and knew nothing about
cookery. Why, there was a buck I
had shot in Hogley Woods, a mag-
nificent pricket, and do you know

77

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

how she had it sent to table? How-
ever, it is no matter now, for it is
all over, and I don't think it was
very nice of her brothers to starve
me to death, though I did kill her."

" Starve you to death? Oh, Mr.
Ghost — I mean Sir Simon, are you
hvmgry? I have a sandwich in my
case. Would you like it? "

" No, thank you, I never eat any-
thing now; but it is very kind of you,
all the same, and you are much nicer
than the rest of your horrid, rude,
vulgar, dishonest family." # ^^

"Stop!" cried Virginia, stamping
her foot, " it is you who are rude, and
horrid, and vulgar, and as for dis-
honesty, you know you stole tiie

78

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

paints out of my box to try and fur-
bish up that ridiculous blood-stain in
the library. First you took all my
reds, including the vermihon, and I
couldn't do any more sunsets, then
you took the emerald-green and the
chrome-yellow, and finally I had
nothing left but indigo and Chinese
white, and could only do moonUght
scenes, which are always depressing
to look at, and not at all easy to
paint. I never told on you, though
. I was very much annoyed, and it was
most ridiculous, the whole thing; for
who ever heard of emerald-green

blood? "

"Well, really," said the Ghost,
rather meekly, "what was I to do?

79

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

It is a very difficult thing to get real
blood nowadays, and, as your brother
began it aU with his Paragon Deter-
gent, I certainly saw no reason why
I should not have your paints. As
for colour, that is always a matter of
taste: the Cantervilles have blue
blood, for instance, the very bluest
in England; but I know you Ameri-
cans don't care for things of this
kind."

" You know nothing about it, and
the best thing you can do is to emi-
grate and improve your mind. My
father will be only too happy to give
you a free passage, and though there
is a heavy duty on spirits of every
kind, there wiH be no difficulty about

80

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the Ciostom House, as the officers are
all Democrats. Once in New York,
you are sure to be a great success.
I know lots of people there who
would give a hundred thousand dol-
lars to have a grandfather, and much
more than that to have a family
ghost."

" I don't think I should like Amer-
ica."

" I suppose because we have no
ruins and no curiosities," said Vir-
ginia, satirically.

"No ruins! no curiosities!" an-
swered the Ghost; "you have your
navy and your manners."

"Good evening; I wiU go and

SI

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ask papa to get the twins an extra
week's holiday."

" Please don't go. Miss Virginia,"
he cried; "I am so lonely and so
unhappy, and I really don't know
what to do. I want to go to sleep
and I cannot."

" That's quite absurd! You have
merely to go to bed and blow out the
candle. It is very difficult sometimes
to keep awake, especially at church,
but there is no difficulty at all about
sleeping. Why, even babies know
how to do that, and they are not very
clever."

" I have not slept for three him-
dred years," he said sadly, and Vir-
ginia's beautiful blue eyes opened in

82

' POOR, POOR GHOST, SHE MURMURED ; « HAVE
YOU NO PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SLEEP ? ' "

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

wonder; " for three hundred years I
have not slept, and I am so tu-ed."

Virginia grew quite grave, and her
httle lips trembled like rose-leaves.
She came towards him, and kneeling
down at his side, looked up into his
old withered face.

" Poor, poor Ghost," she mur-
mured; "have you no place where
you can sleep?"

" Far away beyond the pine-
woods," he answered, in a low,
dreamy voice, "there is a little gar-
den. There the grass grows long
and deep, there are the great white
stars of the hemlock flower, there the
nightingale sings all night long. All
night long he sings, and the cold

86

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

crystal moon looks down, and the
yew-tree spreads out its giant arms
over the sleepers."

Virginia's eyes grew dim with
tears, and she hid her face in her
hands.

" You mean the Garden of Death,"
she whispered.

" Yes, death. Death must be so
beautiful. To lie in the soft brown
earth, with the grasses waving above
one's head, and listen to sUence. To
have no yesterday, and no to-morrow.
To forget time, to forget life, to be
at peace. You can help me. You
can open for me the portals of death's
house, for love is always with you,
and love is stronger than death is."

86

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Virginia trembled, a cold shudder
ran through her, and for a few mo-
ments there was silence. She felt as
if she was in a terrible dream.

Then the ghost spoke again, and
his voice sounded like the sighing of
the wind.

" Have you ever read the old
prophecy on the library window? "

"Oh, often," cried the httle girl,
looking up; "I know it quite well.
It is painted in curious black letters,
and is diflScult to read. There are
only six lines:

<< <

When a golden girl can win
Prayer from out the lips of sin,
When the barren almond bears,
And a little child gives away its tears,

87

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Then shall all the bouse be still
And peace come to Canterrille.'

But I don't know what they mean."
" They mean," he said, sadly, " that
you must weep with me for my sins,
because I have no tears, and pray with
me for my soul, because I have no
faith, and then, if you have always
been sweet, and good, and gentle, the
angel of death wiU have mercy on
me. You will see fearful shapes in
darkness, and wicked voices will
whisper in your ear, but they will
not harm you, for against the purity
of a little child the powers of Hell
cannot prevail."

Virginia made no answer, and the
ghost wrvmg his hands in wild despair

88

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

as he looked down at her bowed
golden head. Suddenly she stood up,
very pale, and with a strange hght in
her eyes. " I am not afraid," she
said firmly, " and I will ask the angel
to have mercy on you."

He rose from his seat with a faint
cry of joy, and taking her hand bent
over it with old-fashioned grace and
kissed it. His fingers were as cold
as ice, and his hps burned like fire,
but Virginia did not falter, as he led
her across the dusky room. On the
faded green tapestry were broidered
httle himtsmen. They blew their tas-
selled horns and with their tiny hands
waved to her to go back. " Go back!
little Virginia," they cried, "go

89

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

back!" but the ghost clutched her
hand more tightly, and she shut her
eyes against them. Horrible animals
with hzard tails and goggle eyes
blinked at her from the carven chim-
neypiece, and murmured, " Beware!
little Virginia, beware! we may never
see you again," but the Ghost gUded
on more swiftly, and Virginia did not
listen. When they reached the end
of the room he stopped, and mut-
tered some words she could not under-
stand. She opened her eyes, and saw
the wall slowly fading away like a
mist, and a great black cavern in
front of her. A bitter cold wind swept
round them, and she felt something
pulling at her dress. " Quick, quick,"

90

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

cried the Ghost, "or it will be too
late," and in a moment the wain-
scoting had closed behind them, and
the Tapestry Chamber was empty.

91

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

VI

'bout ten minutes later,
the bell rang for tea,
and, as Virginia did not
come down, Mrs. Otis
sent up one of the footmen to tell
her. After a little time he returned
and said that he could not find Miss
Virginia anywhere. As she was in
the habit of going out to the garden
every evening to get flowers for the
dinner-table, Mrs. Otis was not at aU
alarmed at first, but when six o'clock
struck, and Virginia did not appear,
she became really agitated, and sent

92

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the boys out to look for her, while she
herself and Mr. Otis searched every
room in the house. At half -past six
the boys came back and said that they
could find no trace of their sister
anywhere. They were all now in the
greatest state of excitement, and did
not know what to do, when Mr. Otis
suddenly remembered that, some few
days before, he had given a band of
gipsies permission to camp in the
park. He accordingly at once set
off for Blackfell Hollow, where he
knew they were, accompanied by his
eldest son and two of the farm-serv-
ants. The little Duke of Cheshire,
who was perfectly frantic with anxi-
ety, begged hard to be allowed to go

98

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

too, but Mr. Otis would not allow
him, as he was afraid there might be
a scuffle. On arriving at the spot,
however, he found that the gipsies
had gone, and it was evident that
their departure had been rather sud-
den, as the fire was still burning, and
some plates were lying on the grass.
Having sent off Washington and the
two men to scorn- the district, he ran
home, and despatched telegrams to
all the police inspectors in the county,
telling them to look out for a lit-
tle girl who had been kidnapped by
tramps or gipsies. He then ordered
his horse to be brought round, and,
after insisting on his wife and the
three boys sitting down to dinner,

04

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

rode off down the Ascot road with
a groom. He had hardly, however,
gone a couple of miles, when he heard
somebody galloping after him, and.

looking round, saw the little Duke
coming up on his pony, with his face
very flushed, and no hat. " I'm aw-
fully sorry, Mr. Otis," gasped out
the boy, " but I can't eat any dinner

96

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

as long as Virginia is lost. Please,
don't be angry with me; if you had
let us be engaged last year, there
would never have been all this trou-
ble. You won't send me back, will
you? I can't go! I won't go!"

The Minister could not help smil-
ing at the handsome young scape-
grace, and was a good deal touched
at his devotion to Virginia, so lean-
ing down from his horse, he patted
him kindly on the shoulders, and said,
" Well, Cecil, if you won't go back,
I suppose you must come with me,
but I must get you a hat at Ascot."

" Oh, bother my hat! I want Vir-
ginia! " cried the little Duke, laugh-
ing, and they galloped on to the rail-

96

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

way station. There Mr. Otis in-
quired of the station-master if any
one answering to the description of
Virginia had been seen on the plat-
form, but could get no news of her.
The station-master, however, wired
up and down the hne, and assured
him that a strict watch would be kept
for her, and, after having bought a
hat for the httle Duke from a linen-
draper, who was just putting up his
shutters, Mr. Otis rode off to Bexley,
a village about four miles away,
which he was told was a well-known
haunt of the gipsies, as there was a
large common next to it. Here they
roused up the rural policeman, but
could get no information from him,

97

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

and, after riding all over the com-
mon, they turned their horses' heads
homewards, and reached the Chase
about eleven o'clock, dead-tired and
almost heart-broken. They found
Washington and the twins waiting
for them at the gate-house with lan-
terns, as the avenue was very dark.
Not the slightest trace of Virginia
had been discovered. The gipsies had
been caught on Brockley meadows,
but she was not with them, and they
had explained their sudden departure
by saying that they had mistaken the
date of Chorton Fair, and had gone
off in a hurry for fear they should
be late. Indeed, they had been quite
distressed at hearing of Virginia's

98

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

disappearance, as they were very
grateful to Mr. Otis for having al-
lowed them to camp in his park, and
fovir of their number had stayed be-
hind to help in the search. The carp-
pond had been dragged, and the
whole Chase thoroughly gone over,
but without any result. It was evi-
dent that, for that night at any rate,
Virginia was lost to them; and it
was in a state of the deepest depres-
sion that Mr. Otis and the boys
walked up to the house, the groom
following behind with the two horses
and the pony. In the hall they found
a group of frightened servants, and
lying on a sofa in the library was
poor Mrs. Otis, almost out of her

99

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

mind with terror and anxiety, and
having her forehead hathed with eau
de cologne by the old housekeeper.
Mr. Otis at once insisted on her hav-
ing something to eat, and ordered up
supper for the whole party. It was
a melancholy meal, as hardly any one
spoke, and even the twins were awe-
struck and subdued, as they were very
fond of their sister. When they had
jBnished, Mr. Otis, in spite of the en-
treaties of the httle Duke, ordered them
all to bed, saying that nothing more
could be done that night, and that he
would telegraph in the morning to
Scotland Yard for some detectives to be
sent down immediately. Just as they
were passing out of the dining-room,

100

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

midnight began to boom from the
clock tower, and when the last stroke
somided they heard a
crash and a sudden
shrill cry; a dreadful
peal of thimder shook
the house, a strain of
unearthly music floated
through the air, a panel
at the top of the stair-
case flew back with a
loud noise, and out on
the landing, looking
very pale and white,
with a little casket in
her hand, stepped Virginia. In a mo-
ment they had all rushed up to her.
Mrs. Otis clasped her passionately in

101

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

her arms, the Duke smothered her
with violent kisses, and the twins exe-
cuted a wild war-dance round the
group.

" Good heavens! child, where have
you been? " said Mr. Otis, rather an-
grily, thinking that she had been
playing some foolish trick on them.
" Cecil and I have been riding all
over the coimtry looking for you, and
yoiu" mother has been frightened to
death. You must never play these
practical jokes any more."

" Except on the Ghost! except on
the Ghost!" shrieked the twins, as
they capered about.

"My own darling, thank God you
are found; you must never leave my

102

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

side again," murmured Mrs. Otis, as
she kissed the trembling child, and
smoothed the tangled gold of her
hair,

" Papa," said Virginia, quietly, " I
have been with the Ghost. He is
dead, and you must come and see
him. He had been very wicked, but
he was really sorry for all that he
had done, and he gave me this box
of beautiful jewels before he died."

The whole family gazed at her in
mute amazement, but she was quite
grave and serious; and, turning
roimd, she led them through the
opening in the wainscoting down a
narrow secret corridor, Washington
following with a lighted candle, which

103

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

he had caught up from the table.
Finally, they came to a great oak
door, studded with rusty nails. When
Virginia touched it, it swung back on
its heavy hinges, and they found them-
selves in a little low room, with a
vaulted ceiling, and one tiny grated
window. Imbedded in the wall was
a huge iron ring, and chained to it was
a gaimt skeleton, that was stretched
out at full length on the stone floor,
and seemed to be trying to grasp with
its long fleshless fingers an old-fash-
ioned trencher and ewer, that were
placed just out of its reach. tThe jug
had evidently been once filled with
water, as it was covered inside with
green mould. There was nothing on

104

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

the trencher but a pile of dust. Vir-
ginia knelt down beside the skeleton,
and, folding her httle hands together,
began to pray silently, while the rest
of the party looked on in wonder at

the terrible tragedy whose secret was
now disclosed to them.

" Hallo! " suddenly exclaimed one
of the twins, who had been looking
out of the window to try and discover
in what wing of the house the room
was situated. "Hallo! the old with-

105

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ered almond-tree has blossomed. I can
see the flowers quite plainly in the
moonlight."

" God has forgiven him," said Vir-
ginia, gravely, as she rose to her feet,
and a beautiful light seemed to illu-
mine her face.

" What an angel you are! " cried the
young Duke, and he put his arm round
her neck, and kissed her.

loe

"J X
< h

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

VII

^^^.^^OUR days after these
^ I C^\ curious incidents, a fu-
^P>* J neral started from Can-
^^^K^^ terville Chase at about
eleven o'clock at night. The hearse
was drawn by eight black horses, each
of which carried on its head a great
tuft of nodding ostrich-plumes, and
the leaden coffin was covered by a rich
purple paU, on which was embroidered
in gold the CanterviUe coat-of-arms.
By the side of the hearse and the
coaches walked the servants with
lighted torches, and the whole pro-

109

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

cession was wonderfully impressive.
Lord CanterviUe was the chief
mourner, having come up specially
from Wales to attend the funeral,
and sat in the first carriage along with
httle Virginia. Then came the United
States Minister and his wife, then
Washington and the three boys, and
in the last carriage was Mrs. Umney.
It was generally felt that, as she had
been frightened by the ghost for more
than fifty years of her life, she had
a right to see the last of him. A deep
grave had been dug in the comer of
the chvu-chyard, just under the old yew-
tree, and the service was read in the
most impressive manner by the Rev.
Augustus Dampier. When the cere-

110

" THE MOON CAME OUT FROM BEHIND A CLOUD "

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

mony was over, the servants, accord-
ing to an old custom observed in the
CantervHle family, extinguished their
torches, and, as the coffin was being
lowered into the grave, Virginia
stepped forward, and laid on it a
large cross made of white and pink
almond-blossoms. As she did so, the
moon came out from behind a cloud,
and flooded with its silent silver the
little churchyard, and from a distant
copse a nightingale began to sing.
She thought of the ghost's description
of the Garden of Death, her eyes be-
came dim with tears, and she hardly
spoke a word during the drive home.

The next morning, before Lord
Canterville went up to town, Mr. Otis

113

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

had an interview with him on the suh-
ject of the jewels the ghost had given
to Virginia. They were perfectly
magnificent, especially a certain ruby
necklace with old Venetian setting,
which was really a superb specimen of
sixteenth-century work, and their value
was so great that Mr. Otis felt con-
siderable scruples about allowing his
daughter to accept them.

" My lord," he said, " I know that
in this coimtry mortmain is held to
apply to trinkets as well as to land,
and it is quite clear to me that these
jewels are, or should be, heirlooms in
your family. I must beg you, ac-
cordingly, to take .them to London
with you, and to regard them simply

114

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

as a portion of your property which
has been restored to you under certain
strange conditions. As for my daugh-
ter, she is merely a child, and has as
yet, I am glad to say, but little interest
in such appurtenances of idle luxury.
I am also informed by Mrs. Otis, who,
I may say, is no mean authority upon
Art, — having had the privilege of
spending several winters in Boston
when she was a girl, — that these gems
are of great monetary worth, and if
offered for sale would fetch a tall
price. Under these circimistances,
Lord Canterville, I feel sure that you
will recognize how impossible it would
be for me to allow them to remain in
the possession of any member of my

116

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

family; and, indeed, all such vain
gauds and toys, however suitable or
necessary to the dignity of the British
aristocracy, would be completely out
of place among those who have been
brought up on the severe, and I be-
lieve immortal, principles of Republi-
can simplicity. Perhaps I shotJd men-
tion that Virginia is very anxious that
you should allow her to retain the box,
as a memento of your imfortvmate but
misguided ancestor. As it is ex-
tremely old, and consequently a good
deal out of repair, you may perhaps
think fit to comply with her request.
For my own part, I confess I am a
good deal surprised to find a chUd of
mine expressing sympathy with medi-

116

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

asvalisna in any form, and can only
account for it by the fact that Virginia
was bom in one of yovir London sub-
urbs shortly after Mrs. Otis had re-
turned from a trip to Athens."

Lord CanterviUe listened very
gravely to the worthy Minister's
speech, pvdling his grey moustache
now and then to hide an involuntary
smile, and when Mr. Otis had ended,
he shook him cordially by the hand,
and said : " My dear sir, your charm-
ing little daughter rendered my un-
lucky ancestor. Sir Simon, a very im-
portant service, and I and my family
are much indebted to her for her mar-
vellous courage and pluck. The jew-
els are clearly hers, and, egad, I be-

117

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

lieve that if I were heartless enough
to take them from her, the wicked old
fellow would be out of his grave in a
fortnight, leading me the devil of a
life. As for their being heirlooms,
nothing is an heirloom that is not so
mentioned in a will or legal document,
and the existence of these jewels has
been quite unknown. I assure you I
have no more claim on them than your
butler, and when Miss Virginia grows
up, I dare say she will be pleased to
have pretty things to wear. Besides,
you forget, Mr. Otis, that you took
the furniture and the ghost at a valu-
ation, and anything that belonged to
the ghost passed at once into your
possession, as, whatever activity Sir

118

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Simon may have shown in the corri-
dor at night, in point of law he was
really dead, and you acquired his prop-
erty by purchase."

Mr. Otis was a good deal distressed
at Lord Canterville's refusal, and
begged him to reconsider his decision,
but the good-natured peer was quite
firm, and finally induced the Minister
to allow his daughter to retain the
present the ghost had given her, and
when, in the spring of 1890, the young
Duchess of Cheshire was presented at
the Queen's first drawing-room on the
occasion of her marriage, her jewels
were the universal theme of admira-
tion. For Virginia received the cor-
onet, which is the reward of all good

119

THE CAXTERVILLE GHOST

little American girls, and was married
to her boy-lover as soon as he came
of age. They were both so charming,
and they loved each other so much,
that every one was delighted at the
match, except the old Marchioness of
Dumbleton, who had tried to catch
the Duke for one of her seven immar-
ried daughters, and had given no less
than three expensive dinner-parties for
that purpose, and, strange to say, Mr.
Otis himself. Mr. Otis was extremely
fond of the yoimg Duke personally,
but, theoretically, he objected to titles,
and, to use his own words, " was not
without apprehension lest, amid the
enervating influences of a pleasure-
loving aristocracy, the true principles

120

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

of Republican simplicity should be for-
gotten." His objections, however,
were completely overruled, and I be-
lieve that when he walked up the aisle
of St. George's, Hanover Square, with
his daughter leaning on his arm, there
was not a prouder man in the whole
length and breadth of England.

The Duke and Duchess, after the
honeymoon was over, went down to
Canterville Chase, and on the day
after their arrival they walked over
in the afternoon to the lonely church-
yard by the pine-woods. There had
been a great deal of difficulty at first
about the inscription on Sir Simon's
tombstone, but finally it had been de-
cided to engrave on it simply the

121

THE CANTERVILL E GHOST

initials of the old gentleman's name,
and the verse from the library win-
dow. The Duchess had brought with
her some lovely roses, which she
strewed upon the grave, and after they
had stood by it for some time they
strolled into the ruined chancel of the
old abbey. There the Duchess sat
down on a fallen piUar, while her hus-
band lay at her feet smoking a ciga-
rette and looking up at her beautiful
eyes. Suddenly he threw his cigarette
away, took hold of her hand, and said
to her, " Virginia, a wife should have
no secrets from her husband."

"Dear Cecil! I have no secrets
from you."

" Yes, you have," he answered, smil-

122

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

ing, " you have never told me what
happened to you when you were locked
up with the ghost."

" I have never told any one, Cecil,"
said Virginia, gravely.

" I know that, but you might tell
me."

" Please don't ask me, Cecil, I can-
not tell you. Poor Sir Simon! I owe
him a great deal. Yes, don't laugh,
Cecil, I really do. He made me see
what Life is, and what Death signi-
fies, and why Love is stronger than
both."

The Duke rose and kissed his wife
lovingly.

" You can have your secret as long
as I have your heart," he mimnured.

123

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

" You have always had that, Cecil."
" And you will tell our children
some day, won't you? "
Virginia blushed.

THE END.

THE WORKS of
OSCAR WILDE

The Plays of Oscar Wilde.

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The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde. An
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halls became the home of the American minister
to the Court of St. James. Rich in humor and
satire. Cloth, gilt top, $1.00.

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ltem;Canterville ghost. An amusing
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